Melody's Second Chance
by FaithInHim4ever
Summary: When Melody is involved in a life threatening accident, she needs the help of her family in order to recover. Will the aftermath of the accident bring them closer together or tear them apart forever? R/R


DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own any of the chars from TLM. They belong to Disney. I do however own Melody Noelle Coralsen, as well as any of her friends.

God loves you

A/N: I wrote this story a long time ago and I've decided to rewrite it. I hope everyone likes it!

"Melody's Second Chance"

It was a cool afternoon in March.

Despite this, the sun was shining brightly for the last few hours of daylight that were left.

Inside the royal palace, Ariel was helping Carlotta cook dinner while Melody hung out in the kitchen with them. The only problem was, the little girl was trying too hard to help. She loved helping her mother cook, but tonight wasn't the time.

Ariel was being as patient as she could with her under the circumstances.

"Mommy, can I help? Please?" Melody asked hopefully. Her chestnut brown hair flowed in waves down her back as she bounced up and down excitedly.

"Sweetheart, I know you want to help, but you can't right now." Ariel explained gently. "I promise you can help me tomorrow night."

Melody frowned.

"But I wanna help you now!" She insisted. She didn't understand why her mother wasn't allowing her to help.

Eric came in just then.

Noticing his wife becoming a little frustrated, he tried to help her out.

"Melody, why don't you come with me. I'm going into town to get a surprise."

"A surprise!" Melody squealed excitedly. "What kind of surprise?"

"You'll see when we get there. Now say good-bye to Mommy and we'll get going."

Ariel mouthed "thank you" to her husband as she kissed Melody and gave her a hug.

"Be good for Daddy." She told her. "I love you, Mel."

"I love you too." Melody replied. With that, she ran to the front door.

"We'll be back soon. " Eric assured her. "I love you."

"Love you too." Ariel told him. She then called as he was leaving, "Be careful!"

"We will!" He promised just as the door closed behind them.

Eric couldn't believe a trip into town had turned into a life or death situation in a matter of twenty minutes.

He had been navigating the road like always, when all of a sudden an out of control carriage came speeding down the road.

Eric didn't have time to swerve. He managed to come out of the ordeal with only minor scrapes and one or two bruises.

Melody, on the other hand, wasn't so fortunate.

The minute Eric saw the other carriage slam into Melody's side of theirs, he knew his daughter was going to be in bad shape.

He just wasn't' prepared for how bad.

The young man didn't dare move her though.

Instead, he called for help and waited for the medics to get there.

When one of the paramedics suggested Eric ride with Melody so he could get examined as well, Eric declined. He explained he had to go back home and tell his wife what had happened.

The paramedic allowed this with the assurance that when Eric arrived at the hospital to see their daughter, Eric would get examined as well.

Eric agreed before taking off in the direction of home. He had to tell Ariel and quickly.

In the meantime, he got a message to Carlotta to tell her what was going on. He instructed her not to tell Ariel anything except that there had been an accident and he was okay.

Carlotta promised she would pass along the message and Eric thanked her.

Meanwhile back at the house, Ariel was putting the apple pie on the table when Carlotta came in. The look on her face told Ariel there was trouble.

"Carlotta, what is it?" Ariel asked. She then added, "Where are Eric and Melody? They should have been back by now."

Carlotta sighed. She didn't know how to break the news to the princess, but she knew she had to tell her soon.

"Dear, I have some bad news." She started. "Eric just called and…"

"What happened?" Ariel asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"There's been an accident." Carlotta explained.

"An accident? What kind? Is Melody all right? What about Eric?"

"I'm fine." Eric assured her as he entered the dining room.

Ariel ran to him and hugged him tightly.

"Aw, thank God." She then noticed someone was missing. "Where's Melody?"

Eric sighed. This was going to be hard for him to say as well as for Ariel to hear. Nevertheless, he knew he had to tell her before they left.

"Melody's…she's hurt pretty badly. The carriage slammed into her side and she…well she has a lot of cuts and bruises."

Ariel gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.

"If only I would have let her help me." She said just before the tears of guilt and fear began to fall. "Then she wouldn't be…" Her voice trialed off as the tears came.

Eric did the only thing he could for her and took his distraught wife into his arms.

"Shh, everything's going to be okay. It's not your fault. Melody's going to be fine. She's strong, like you. Let's go down and see her." With that, he led the way outside and over to a spare carriage they owned.

Getting to Coral Memorial Hospital, Eric explained to the receptionist who they were and that they were there to see their daughter.

The woman behind the desk nodded.

"They've just gotten her stabilized." She explained. "You can go back to see her. Cindi's waiting for you."

"Thank you." Ariel said softly.

When they reached the room where Melody was being held, Ariel gasped at the sight she found.

Her precious Melody looked so small and helpless. She had an IV in her right hand and her body was covered in bruises and cuts. Her right arm was also in a cast.

Ariel started stroking her hair, hoping she would know she was there.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart." Ariel said softly. "Mommy's so sorry, baby. I'm not going anywhere. I'm gonna stay right here with you." With that, she sat down beside Melody's bed and took her daughter's left hand in hers. She was careful of the IV but she needed to make physical contact with her little girl. She needed the reassurance that she was still alive and would fight the good fight to live.

Just then, Cindi joined them. She gave Ariel a sympathetic look before going over to check on Melody.

"She's stable for now." Cindi explained. "The next few hours will determine a lot. She might have to have surgery to repair an injury to her left eye."

"Will she be able to see out of it again?" Ariel asked. She feared the answer, but she had to know.

"With time and healing." Cindi replied. "Btu for now, we're just waiting for her to wake up."

Ariel nodded. She then remembered when she had been in a coma back when she was fourteen, she still was bale to hear her family talking to her. She paid special attention to Andrina and Aquata, but she still heard the others as well.

She just prayed it was the same for Melody.

"Talking to Melody will help her to wake up faster. Also, children tend to heal faster from accidents than adults. We've also found that if they have a bond with one person in particular, that bond helps as well."

"I know." Ariel said. She then told Cindi a little of what she had gone through.

"I'll be back to check on her in a little while." She was about to leave, when she noticed Eric standing there. "And you, you need to get sutured up. You can come back afar I'm done."

Eric tired to protest, but Cindi wouldn't hear it.

Ariel backed her up, which didn't help his cause.

"Go on, honey. Melody and I will be fine." She kissed him on the cheek before sending him on his way.

Once Eric and Cindi left, Ariel turned her full attention to Melody.

She took a few minutes to gather her thoughts together. She now appreciated what her sisters and father must have gone through when she had been in her coma.

"Melody, I'm right here, sweetheart. Daddy's gonna be back soon. We both love you so much. We just want you to be okay. But you need to wake up for us, sweetie. I know you can do it. I also know you've always listened to me before, so please wake up soon. I love you, sweetheart. I love you so much." With that, she started to sing. She figured it was the one thing she could give her daughter that would help her find her way back to them.

Meanwhile, Melody found herself in Atlantica, but something was different. She was Human and she could still breathe under water.

That didn't make sense to the five-year-old. She had never been able to do that before.

Taking a deep breath, she tried her best to figure out where to go. She wanted to go home, but she was a little lost at the moment.

The other thing that was strange was the fact that she couldn't see everything around her. She could see out of her right eye just fine, but her left felt heavy and sore.

As she was about to take a left, she heard something familiar. It sounded like her mother singing.

Smiling to herself, Melody took off for the familiar and comforting sound.

She had been swimming for a long time when she started feeling tired. Even though a small part of her wanted to sleep, a much bigger part wanted to keep going. Something told her that if she followed the sound of her mother singing, she would find her way back home. She didn't know how she knew it. It was just what her heart was telling her.

Despite her desire to go home, the tiredness was winning at the moment.

Before Melody knew it, she had closed her eyes and was asleep in minutes.

"She'll be fine." Cindi assured Ariel and Eric as she finished giving Melody the sedative to make her tired. "We'll come and get you once the operation's over."

Ariel nodded. She gave Melody a kiss and told her she loved her as did Eric.

The minute Cindi had wheeled Melody down to the OR, silence fell between the couple.

Ariel broke it with an observation. It was more to break the mood than anything else.

"She's being stubborn." She said softly. "She's not listening to me. Why isn't she listening to me? She always listens to me."

Eric sighed. He put a hand on his wife's shoulder and was surprised when she shrugged him off.

"Ariel." He said.

"I'm sorry." Ariel apologized. "It's just that…" Her voice trailed off as she battled with her emotions.

"Melody will wake up when she's ready. She needs to do this in her own time."

Ariel nodded. She heaved a sigh before gazing out of the window and up into the sky.

She said a silent prayer for her daughter. All she wanted was for Melody to wake up and be okay.

Meanwhile, Melody awoke feeling really strange. She was still having trouble seeing out of her left eye and now her stomach hurt as well.

As she tried to decide which direction to swim in, she realized with a pang of fear that her mother had stopped singing.

How was she ever going to fin d her way back home now?"

Her mother's singing had always been a constant for her. Something she could depend on no matter what. She depended on it just like she depended on her mother to take care of her.

Realizing she had nothing to do but wait, Melody sat back down and tried to get a little more rest. Hopefully, her mother would start singing again soon. But until she did, the child would just have to wait…

"She's out of surgery." Cindi informed Ariel and Eric three hours later. "She did really well. We've exubated her and she's breathing on her own. The only thing left is for her to wake up."

"Can we go back and see her? " Ariel asked. She was anxious to hold her daughter's hand again.

"Of course." Cindi replied. With that, she led the couple back to the recovery room where Melody was currently resting.

Ariel noticed Melody had a patch over her left eye and her stomach had a bandage on it as well.

"We had to remove her spleen." Cyndi explained. "It was ruptured during the accident. She should regain sight in her left eye in time. You may stay as long as you like." She told them.

"Thank you." Ariel replied. She sat down next to Melody's bed and took her daughter's left hand in hers once again. "Come on, Melody. Please, wake up soon. You can take your time. It's okay to take your time. But please wake up soon." With that, Ariel started to sing once again.

Melody awoke with a start. She wasn't' sure what had caused her to awaken from her little catnap, but now that she was awake, she was going to try and get back home.

Once she had chosen a direction to go, she heard her mother singing again.

Cheering inside, Melody changed directions and followed her mother's sweet singing voice.

The only problem was, the closer she got to her goal, the more tired she became.

Every movement took effort and every time she stopped, she felt as though she couldn't go on.

What made matters worse, she had seemed to lose all vision in her left eye completely.

As her mother's singing seemed to surround her, she collapsed in the entrance of what looked like a bedroom, unable to go any further.

Ariel felt it before she looked down and saw it for herself. Melody had squeezed her hand. She had squeezed her hand!

"That's it." Ariel encouraged as she stopped singing momentarily. "Thatta girl. Come on, sweetheart. Just open those beautiful brown eyes for me." She then finished singing "In Harmony" for the third time in the last hour.

She didn't mind though. She would sing it all night if it helped Melody come back to them.

Melody's eyes opened slowly. She felt tired and very sore.

"Mommy?" She asked before starting to cough.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm right here, Mel. Mommy's right here." Ariel assured her. "You're awake. How do you feel?"

"Sleepy." She replied tearfully. "Mommy, it hurts!"

"I know it does, darling. I know. But you're gonna be okay now. You just need to rest. I'm not gonna leave you." With that, she held out a cup of water for her daughter to drink.

Melody managed to take a few sips before the tears started.

"Shh, it's okay, honey. It's okay…" Ariel soothed.

"I can't see!" Melody cried suddenly as she realized she couldn't see her mother sitting next to her. "Mommy, I can't see!"

Ariel's heart was breaking for her little girl.

"You'll be able to see again soon. Your left eye just needs some rest." She gently explained.

Just then, Cindi came in. She checked Melody's vitals before taking the patch off her right eye.

Once that was done, she made sure her IV wasn't empty and then left Melody to get some rest. She told Ariel that she would be by later to check on Melody and give her something to eat.

Melody made a noise that clearly stated she wasn't hungry upon hearing Cindi's last statement.

"Will you try for me?" Ariel coaxed.

Melody agreed, even though she was more tired than anything else.

Not long after Cindi left to check on another patient, Eric came back. He had gone to get Ariel and himself something to drink and eat.

"Where have you been?" Ariel asked.

Eric sighed as he put the bags down on the table.

"I sort of got lost." He admitted.

"How?" Ariel inquired while stroking Melody's hair.

"Well I found the cafeteria, but on my way back I got turned around. One minute I'm walking down a hallway leading to the elevator and the next minute I hear babies crying. A woman named Helga helped me get back on track. I think she was from Russia."

"What makes you say that? And where's Russia?" Ariel asked as an after thought.

"She didn't speak English very well." Eric replied.

Ariel nodded.

Melody had fallen back to sleep by now and Ariel didn't want to disturb her. She knew her daughter needed all the rest she could get if she was going to recover.

"Has she woken up yet?" Eric asked in concern.

Ariel nodded.

"Yup. She just needs rest now."

"See/? I told you she would listen to you in time."

Ariel nodded as she smiled down at Melody lovingly. She would do anything for that little girl. She knew Eric felt the same way.


End file.
